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Italy pretends to condemn Ethiopian military punishment on Eritrea

Tigrai OnlineMarch 18, 2012

Rome (dpa) - The Italian government on Friday condemned an attack by Ethiopia on neighbouring Eritrea, and appealed to the two Horn of Africa nations to refrain from other violent acts against each other.

The Foreign Ministry in Rome was following with "deep concern" news of the foray launched by Ethiopian troops into Eritrean territory, it said in a statement.

Ethiopia said on Thursday it sent troops 16 kilometres into Eritrean territory to attack camps run by "subversive groups." Ethiopia often accuses Asmara of aiding rebel groups hostile to Addis Ababa.

Firmly condemning every recourse to violence", the Ministry appealed to the two sides "to refrain from other measures that violate fundamental principles of international co-existence."

The statement also referred to the need for both countries to fully implement the Algiers Agreement to end a border war fought from 1998 to 2000 between Eritrea and Ethiopia - both of which are former Italian colonies. Their shared border is still poorly defined.

The war left over 100,000 people dead and the two remain arch-rivals. dpa pwm shg cfn hl Authors: Peter Mayer